If you allow me to "run" a marathon on inline skates, against the best marathon runners (running on their feet) I can guarantee you I will not win it. Is that proof that I did not have an advantage? Hardly, because the best marathon inline skaters would beat the best marathon runner by more than one hour.

The main advantage enjoyed by Pistorius is related to the fact that we cannot bring the current 400 m specialists back to their infancy, amputate their legs, give them 20 years to practice on blades, and see how fast they "run" the 400m. Since this can't happen, there is always some microscopic room for doubts, which, if wisely combined with the mediatic value of the cinderella aspect of the story, is sufficient to allow it.

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Yeah, the other thing is that the sample size is too small to know how good you can be "running" like that. How many people in the world are double-amputees? Out of all of those people, how many want to be 400m runners? Maybe Pistorius isn't particularly good at it, and one day someone will come along who can run on those things much faster than him.

Human legs are so marvelous ! With nerves and feedback that help us maintain our balance. I sprained my ankle (quite bad) and realized how much ankles help in maintaining balance. Oscar, unfortunately, does not have this advantage. I see his story as one that can inspire people to achieve goals which might seem impossible.

From an engineering perspective one can see where the carbon fiber could give an advantage beyond the capabilities of the leg muscles/joints/bones they are replacing. But there are numerous negatives too. Glad I didn't have to make the decision.

From an engineering perspective one can see where the carbon fiber could give an advantage beyond the capabilities of the leg muscles/joints/bones they are replacing. But there are numerous negatives too. Glad I didn't have to make the decision.

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It's not even about that, it's about the fact that what he's doing isn't really running. Running on two legs, and running on blades uses totally different muscles, different techniques and different skills. So he doesn't belong in the same race as a two-legged runner.

This is kind of funny. Pistorius loses to another runner on blades and accuses him of gaining an unfair advantage because of his blades.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=oly&id=8333089
[...]
But the era of Paralympic invincibility for the so-called "Blade Runner" appeared to end when his bid for a third straight gold in the 200 meters was thwarted Sunday night by another double amputee on carbon fiber prosthesis.

Victory seemed certain for Pistorius when he reached the bend on the London track, but Alan Oliveira of Brazil came storming down the home straight on his blades to overtake the defending champion.

Rather than hailing his rival, Pistorius accused the 20-year-old Brazilian of gaining an unfair edge by using lengthened blades. That's despite spending years himself convincing authorities that he should be allowed to compete in the Olympics -- a feat he achieved last month -- because his prosthesis did not influence his athletic capabilities.

Having called on the world to focus on the abilities of athletes rather than their disabilities before the London Games, Pistorius has shifted the spotlight back onto the advantage technology might provide.
[...]

During a profile on the sportsman, who competed against able-bodied athletes at last year's London Olympics, the British Daily Mail reported of a baseball and cricket bat behind Pistorious's bedroom door and a "revolver at his bedside. A machine gun by his window".
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Reminds me a bit of music producer Phil Spector, who had a long standing habit of pointing guns at people (often while drunk out of his mind) to force them to do what he wanted. He did it in recording studios too. People thought it was kind of cute. Then one day he shoved a gun into a woman's mouth when she refused his sexual advances, and blew her brains out. I am not against owning guns, but some people should have them taken away from them.